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NHL: Chicago Blackhawks hope Marian Hossa can play in Game 4 against Boston Bruins

Associated Press

Posted:
06/18/2013 08:05:17 PM PDT

Updated:
06/18/2013 10:29:02 PM PDT

The mysterious circumstances behind Marian Hossa's injury that sidelined the Chicago Blackhawks winger for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals remain. So much so, that teammate Dave Bolland wasn't even sure if he had seen Hossa around.

"Oh, I don't know," Bolland said Tuesday, the day after Hossa was a late scratch with an upper-body injury.

Bolland then was asked to clarify.

"No, I don't know if I've seen him," the center said.

Coach Joel Quenneville wouldn't reveal the nature of Hossa's injury or when it occurred, but he did shed light on the veteran's status for Wednesday's Game 4 at Boston's TD Garden.

"I'm going to say (Hossa's) likely to play," Quenneville said.

The Blackhawks missed the veteran's play during a 2-0 loss to the Bruins on Monday night that dropped them into a 2-1 hole in the best-of-seven series.

Ben Smith replaced Hossa in the lineup despite not participating in warm-ups and said afterward that he was scrambling to warm up after being told he would play just before the game began.

Former Blackhawks All-Star Tony Amonte, now an analyst for CSN New England, criticized Hossa.

"You're in the Stanley Cup final. You play until you can't play anymore," Amonte said Tuesday on WEEI-FM 93.7 in Boston.

Monday night, Amonte questioned Hossa's toughness on CSN New England: "He's not the guy with the highest pain threshold in the NHL," Amonte said. "He's not a guy (who) will play through a lot of injuries."

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